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Mapping multiple drivers of human obesity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

R. Alexander Bentley  and
Michael J. O'Brien
R. Alexander Bentley
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204. rabentley@uh.edu Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204.
Michael J. O'Brien
Affiliation:
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Texas A&M University–San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78224. mike.obrien@tamusa.edu Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211.
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Abstract

The insurance hypothesis is a reasonable explanation for the current obesity epidemic. One alternative explanation is that the marketing of high-sugar foods, especially sugar-sweetened beverages, drives the rise in obesity. Another prominent hypothesis is that obesity spreads through social influence. We offer a framework for estimating the extent to which these different models explain the rise in obesity.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e107
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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